Hey all, first time trying my luck here but I've had a lot of success using forums to diagnose problems with other cars I've had. I drive a 2001 V70 with 270k miles. My dad drove the car for 250k miles over about 5 years, and I have been lucky enough to drive it since then during college. It usually runs perfect, but recently I have had a problem getting my car to start.

The other day I was pulling into a parking spot on a steep hill and when I pulled in my car either stalled or turned off. At the time it seemed like it just turned off (ie battery completely drained), but in retrospect it is probably more likely that it stalled even if it didn't feel like it at the time. When I tried restarting my car, the starter clicked rapidly but the car failed to start. The car still had enough juice to run the AC, use the power locks, and roll up the windows. Luckily, I had two friends with me who pushed the car into the spot where I left it until the next day. Before this incident, my car started quickly and never showed signs of low battery (at least over the past few months).

The next day, I tried my luck and to my surprise, the car started pretty quickly and all seemed fine except the clock had reset (assume this means very low battery voltage at some point). I drove it around for 15 minutes or so and went to the grocery store. When I left the store, my car started slowly, after about 5 seconds of holding my key in the start position, and the clock once again reset. I attempted to restart it again the following day with no luck. The starter seemed to click a little slower this time. Later that day I opened up the battery casing and checked the contacts for corrosion. They were clean, but by this point my power locks, the radio, and the AC wouldnt work at all. I still got some power on the dash though.

This would seem to be an indication that my battery is bad, but I just got a brand new battery last December. I don't have many tools with me since I'm here at college, and I don't want to just jump it for fear of it dying in a parking lot when I am out somewhere. Should I replace the battery again, or do I need to get it checked out somewhere to make sure it isn't the starter or the alternator? Thanks guys.

 

With the car running use a volt meter and see what the voltage output is from the alternator.

The regulators commonly go bad. When they do the hotter they get the less they charge.

 

I'm having this exact same problem. I've replaced my starter motor to no avail. Did you find out if the regulator was the problem?